Our Boxing Day starts now

It is true that during these days we football fans look with a touch of envy at the Premier League, with its packed stadiums, its festive atmosphere and its flow of non-stop matches. I remember a conversation with the great John Benjamin Toshack about that crazy schedule: “I loved playing those games for Liverpool. The atmosphere in the fields is different. You feel like you’re playing for the people. To the footballers who complain I say: you will rest when you retire.” Italy has also stopped just enough. For the vicious, the children’s tournament, in Maspalomas, has come to alleviate the hunger of those who need matches daily. The truth is that among the kids they see things about older football and it is more than just a substitute with which to make up for the break.

But in Spain our Boxing Day starts now. Valencia and Real Madrid will open the fire, recovering that match postponed by DANA and then it will not stop until the national team returns, in March. League dates will be mixed with Cup qualifiers, the Super Cup will make room with its attractive format – hopefully one day it will be played like this in Spain – the Champions League will not be missing, already in January, and this will end well into the month of July with the Club World Cup. There is even talk that a team could make a brand new signing in that competition. Football deadlines, as we knew them, have been blown up.

It’s truly amazing that so many games fit. Above all, to the English. That’s why we sometimes have the impression that there are more torn cruciate ligaments than there are soccer games.

The day will not be far away when the squads are larger – more spending, more difference between big and small – or when teams blatantly prioritize objectives. We are going towards an unsustainable ecosystem. “They’re going to drop like flies,” says someone here.

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